Election petitions cannot be filed merely on the basis of videos downloaded from internet: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has ruled that election petitions cannot be filed merely based on videos downloaded from the internet. In a case where P. Kamalakkannan, a DMK advocate's wing office-bearer, challenged AIADMK former Minister C.Ve. Shanmugam's victory in the Mailam Assembly constituency, the court rejected his petition. Mr. Shanmugam had won the seat with 82,533 votes compared to Mr. Kamalakkannan's 52,312 votes in the 2026 general elections.

The petitioner alleged that Shanmugam had bribed voters with cash and coupons. However, the court stated that the petitioner had no personal knowledge of the allegations and that the evidence was derived solely from an internet video without verifying its authenticity. The judge also pointed out that the petitioner did not provide names or numbers of voters allegedly affected and omitted crucial details such as the amount of money allegedly distributed and the number of coupons circulated.

Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan concluded that the election petition was filed only on hearsay allegations and lacked sufficient material facts to constitute a complete cause of action for alleged electoral bribery.